


Tyrus: Even Demons Ship It!

by CuteAsANewt



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Don't Take This Too Seriously, Kippen Siblings, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Pining, Tyrus - Freeform, kind of stupid but still fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 21:09:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16605488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuteAsANewt/pseuds/CuteAsANewt
Summary: Cyrus invites TJ to the GHC's Halloween Party. Everyone is painfully aware of the oblivious boy's feelings for one another, even, apparently, a demon they contact through an ouija board.Posted to tumblr on Halloween, only just now getting around to re-uploading on ao3!





	Tyrus: Even Demons Ship It!

**Author's Note:**

> this is just me being stupid and trying to be funny while writing sweet tyrus fluff. idk. I wrote it drunk and then edited it after an intense session at the dentist so I was kind of high from pain medicine they gave me. So. It's gonna suck but I hope you enjoy it anyway lol

The wind was blowing hard outside The Spoon, causing the trees to whistle and the branches to occasionally scratch at the diner’s front windows. That combined with the sun beginning to set, dying the sky a dark navy blue as the nearly full moon became more apparent, created the perfect atmosphere for Andi to review her Halloween plans with her best friends as they sat in their usual booth.

Andi waited patiently to talk about their plans as Cyrus finished performing the final scene of his Halloween special of tater theater, Rocky Hashbrown Picture Show (a working title, Cyrus had to admit).

The girls giggled and applauded at Cyrus’s theatrics as he took a bow and popped the last baby tater in his mouth.

“Okay,” Andi started, “speaking of Halloween movies, what should we watch this Friday?”

This Friday would be the first Halloween the good hair crew hadn’t gone trick or treating, deciding that they were too old for such childish activities. Instead, they had been spending the last week planning a small Halloween get together at Andi and Bex’s apartment, complete with pizza, candy, costumes, and scary movies.

“Oh, we should watch something classic, like The Exorcist!” Buffy exclaimed. “My mom said she saw it when it came out in theaters and she almost peed her pants it was so scary. She didn’t sleep for a week!”

Cyrus grimaced slightly. He wanted to put on a brave face and have a good time with his friends. He loved Halloween after all. But horror was not his favorite genre, to put it lightly.

“Aw, shoot Buffy, I don’t think it’s available on Netflix. Maybe we can watch The Nightmare Before Christmas instead?” He suggested hopefully.

Buffy smirked at his friend, “Don’t worry Cy, Marty has it on DVD. I’ll just tell him to bring it.”

Cyrus paused for a second taking in that information. He knew Marty had reached out to Buffy to apologize for how he acted after their virtual reality non-date and the two had been texting a lot since then. But he assumed this party was just the good hair crew. Plus Jonah, but he was practically an honorary member at this point. Maybe if Buffy could invite a friend, then the girls would be fine if Cyrus invited -

“You okay there, Cy?” Andi said, waving her hand in front of Cyrus’s face, breaking him out of his train of thought. “You look like you’re thinking pretty hard about something. We don’t have to watch a scary movie if you don’t want to.” She gave him a sympathetic smile.

“No, it’s not that.” Cyrus started, forgetting about his previous previous horror movie anxieties. And actually, he thought, it might not be so bad to watch a horror movie if he could do so sitting next to TJ.

He chewed his lip and then, as casually as he could, said “Since Buffy’s bringing Marty, would it be cool if I ask TJ if he wants to come?” He tried to sound nonchalant, but felt the blush spread across his cheeks.

Andi and Buffy shared a look, then simultaneously turned to Cyrus with smirks plastered on their faces, tipping Cyrus off to the fact that he had not been as stealthy about his crush as he had hoped. He sipped his milkshake, trying to hide the anxiety he felt spiking inside him.

“Sure Cy. You can bring your boyfriend.” Buffy said with a knowing glint in her eyes.

Cyrus choked on his milkshake, coughing violently. At the same time, they heard a similar cough coming from the booth behind them. Buffy looked over Cyrus to see Amber sitting across some guy with a hood up, no doubt her current boy toy. Amber began fake coughing and then made eye contact with Buffy and said, “Sorry. Must be coming down with something.” giving Buffy a coy smile.

Buffy glared at Amber, but decided it wasn’t worth her time and turned her attention back to her embarrassed friend across their table. His face was beat red.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Cyrus hissed.

“Yeah, but you want him to be.” Andi said.

Cyrus stared at his friends for a minute before sighing in resignation. “Okay, fine. I like TJ, alright?” He crossed his arms on the table and buried his head in them.

The girls’ smiles widened and Andi squealed. “I knew it! Aw, Cyrus, I’m so happy for you. This is so cute!”

Cyrus groaned, looking up at his best friends. “Ugh. No it’s not. And there’s nothing to be happy about. Nothing’s going to happen because it’s just another hopeless crush on a straight guy. So please don’t make a big deal out of this, okay?” he gave them a pleading look. “It’s just. I like spending time with him so much. I know you guys don’t know him like I do, but he’s a really great guy and I don’t want my stupid feelings to ruin our friendship. I just need to wait it out until the crush feelings disappear like they did with Jonah.”

Andi reached across the table to grab Cyrus’s hands and gave him a sympathetic smile. “Of course you can invite TJ this Friday.” she said, giving his hands a comforting squeeze.

Buffy nodded in agreement and seemed to hesitate a minute before adding “and if you ever wanna talk about your crush-”

“I  _so_ don’t.”

“Okay but, just throwing this out there, I don’t think the idea of him liking you back is that outrageous.” Just behind Cyrus, Buffy saw Amber give the boy she was sitting across from a pointed look before standing up, flicking the guy on the back of the head, and leaving The Spoon.

Buffy turned her attention back to Cyrus as he gave her an incredulous look. “Yeah, we’re done talking about this.” He looked at his watch before adding, “I need to head out anyway. I promised my step dad I would help with dinner tonight.” He gave the girls a smile and waved as he headed out the door.

“I should probably head out too.” Andi told Buffy. “Bex has been swamped at work lately and the pizza we’ll inevitably have for dinner won’t order itself.” she laughed. “Wanna walk home together?”

Buffy glanced back at the booth that once held Amber and then looked back at Andi “You go ahead. There’s some guys from the basketball team here that I wanna go over a few things with.” Not technically a lie, and Andi seemed satisfied with that answer.

“Alright, see ya at school tomorrow!”

As soon as the door closed behind Andi, Buffy got up and ripped the hood off the boy sitting at the booth over. She thought she recognized that hideous green hoodie.

“What the HELL, Driscoll?” TJ said as he turned to face her.

Buffy glared at him. “Cut the crap, Kippen. How much of that did you hear?”

TJ kept his face cold and distant but Buffy noticed his jaw clench and beads of sweat gathering at his hairline. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just eating with my sister. Just because you and your friends are always butting yourself into others business doesn’t mean everyone else is too.” He was rambling and he knew it.

Buffy leaned forward to get right into TJ’s face and looked him up and down as if sizing him up, until her glare met his and they found themselves in a staring contest, daring the other to speak first.

TJ was the first to relent, sighing as he broke eye contact and ran his hands through his hair. “Okay, so, I may have overheard Cyrus say some… things.”

Buffy’s death glare faltered for a moment when she thought she saw a blush spread across TJ’s cheeks. She had her suspicions about TJ’s feelings for Cyrus, but in this moment her protective instincts took over. Afterall, Cyrus’s biggest secret was just revealed to the last person whom he wanted to know about it, and Buffy felt partly responsible for pushing him to have that conversation in a crowded public place.

“I swear to God, TJ, if you hurt him-”

“I won’t. I would never. I- look. Cyrus is my best friend. And, hearing him say those things…” TJ looked at his hands in his lap, at a loss for words. He had so many emotions running through his head - elation, confusion, fear, and embarrassment at this suddenly vulnerable conversation he found himself in, with Buffy of all people.

TJ glanced back at Buffy and saw that her face had softened considerably, encouraging him to continue, telling him that she was a safe person to talk to.

“I guess I’m just surprised. I mean, I knew he was gay. He’d already told me,” Buffy tried to hide her shock at that. She knew the two were close but she had no idea Cyrus felt safe enough to confide that in TJ. “but I had no clue that he…” TJ rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the floor to hide what he was sure was written all over his face, what he couldn’t seem to say out loud, that Cyrus liked him back.

Buffy was at a loss for words. She wasn’t used to seeing TJ this vulnerable and if she was being honest, it made her a little uncomfortable. She and TJ were friends now, but their relationship mostly consisted of brief hellos when passing in the hallway or witty and biting remarks made at the other’s expense on the basketball court. She knew this was uncomfortable for TJ as well. This wasn’t at all their usual dynamic. Still, she could tell he needed to talk through this with someone, so she did what she does best. She pushed him.

“TJ, you like Cyrus too, don’t you?” The question was blunt but not unkind, in true Buffy fashion.

TJ just groaned in response, slamming his back into the booth and looking up at the ceiling. For a minute Buffy didn’t think he was going to answer.

TJ let out a long breath he seemed to have been holding in. “I think so.” It was barely a whisper but Buffy caught it.

“Well, that’s great, TJ!” TJ’s head lowered and he looked at Buffy with a strained face. Buffy faltered a minute in confusion. “I mean, isn’t it great? You know he likes you back.”

TJ felt his heart swell and small smile spread across his face. “Yeah,” he chuckled to himself, shaking his head lightly, “he does.” He felt dizzy saying that. This was all happening so fast. Too fast. He was just supposed to meet his sister before her shift to plan their mom’s birthday, that’s all this afternoon was supposed to be. He didn’t expect to be put through this emotional rollercoaster. He felt his brows knit together as Buffy watched him with a confused but patient expression.

“I just. I feel like I have whiplash. I don’t- I mean- I didn’t think- UGH” TJ shook his head, getting frustrated at himself. He’s never this bad with words. “Look, Driscoll,” he looked her in the eyes, trying to regain some of his usual confidence. “You’re right. I like Cyrus.” He rolled his eyes at her triumphant smile. “But this is all still new to me. I only just figured out that I -” he paused, trying to figure out how he wanted to say this.

“That you like Cyrus?” Buffy offered, “Or that you’re…”

“Gay?”

“Are you?”

“Yeah.” TJ let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. It was the first time he’d admitted it out loud. “Yeah, I am. And yeah, it’s kind of new information to me.”

Buffy resisted the urge to reach out and grab TJ’s hands as he nervously tore at a napkin on the table. She settled for quickly giving one of TJ’s shoulders a gentle squeeze, prompting him to look back at her.

She got a sudden sense of deja vu as she remembered sitting in a booth across the diner nearly a year ago, having a similar conversation with Cyrus.

“Hey. There is  _nothing_ wrong with you.” Buffy emphasized each word as she spoke it.

TJ smiled and seemed to relax. “So I’ve heard.” he said almost too himself, as if he was remembering a private moment Buffy wasn’t a part of.

Nevertheless, Buffy was glad to see him more comfortable.

“So… are you going to tell him?”

TJ’s dopey smile was replaced with a wider, confident smirk. “I think I might.”

* * *

 

Later that night, TJ lay in bed unable to sleep. He kept replaying everything that went down at The Spoon in his head. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an incoming text.

 **Underdog** : Hey!!! Do you have Halloween plans?

 **TJ** : nah. hbu

TJ’s stomach flipped. Of course he knew Cyrus’s Halloween plans. He’d caught bits and pieces of it at The Spoon. Was Cyrus actually going to invite him though? Cyrus seemed so freaked out talking about it with Buffy and Andi.

 **Underdog** : Yeah, actually a few of us are gonna hang out at Andi’s place. Pretty low key. Snacks, movies, etc… do you want to come?

 **Underdog** : I know it sounds pretty lame as far as parties go. I understand if you don’t want to.

 **TJ** : im there!

TJ mentally cursed at himself for adding that exclamation point. Was he being obvious or weird? He figured he must sound weird. He never overthinks texts like this.

 **Underdog** : Cool! Friday. 6pm. Don’t be late.

 **Underdog** : AND YOU BETTER WEAR A COSTUME :)

 **TJ** : what r u gonna be?

 **Underdog** : You’ll have to wait and see ;)

Was that a winky face? Did Cyrus actually send him a winky face? TJ didn’t know why he was so surprised. He knows Cyrus likes him. Cyrus likes him. And once again his head started spinning and his body felt jittery, like he was floating. Oh. He wasn’t surprised by the winky face. He was excited. Cyrus.  _likes_. him. He felt like an idiot about being such a big sap. He tried to get it together and crush the urge to giggle he felt rising in his throat, but he could tell it was a losing battle. He figured he may as well lean into it. He scrolled back in their old messages and felt a big dopey smile spread across his face as he read through them. Fuck. He was in so much deeper than he thought.

* * *

 

TJ double checked the address Cyrus had sent him and awkwardly tugged at the hem of his shirt as he approached the Mack residence. He only had two days to come up with a costume. He was nervous that what he chose was too much and he was a little embarrassed. He figured Cyrus would go all out with his costume but TJ was still uncharacteristically anxious as he got closer to the front door. He guessed he had reason to be nervous though. He was planning on telling Cyrus how he felt tonight. Not that he had an actual plan, per se. His plan was to just wing it. He’d never been one to plan too far in advance. 

But did he look okay? Was his costume too much? Or was it not going to be enough for Cyrus? He shook his head and rubbed his hands over his face.

“Get it together, Kippen.” he muttered before ringing the doorbell.

The instant it rang, he heard Cyrus yell inside, “Oh, that must be TJ! I got it!” followed by chuckles from his friends. TJ also laughed at the commotion inside, shaking his head and feeling more relaxed. He was so stupid for being nervous, it’s just Cyrus. It’s just Underdog.

And then the door opened. And it was Cyrus. And he looked  _good_. He was dressed like a dapper rich dead guy with vampire fangs. TJ didn’t know exactly who Cyrus was dressed as, but damn. It suited him.

“TJ!” Cyrus smiled wide as he looked TJ up and down, taking in his Nosferatu costume. TJ was a major classic horror movie buff but it occurred to him as Cyrus stared at him that he’d never mentioned that to Cyrus before. “You look great! And we kinda match! Two iconic cinematic vampires! Nosferatu and Viago!”

TJ chuckled and took in Cyrus’s costume again. “Underdog, first of all, you look  _sick_. I mean like, truly awesome.” Cyrus broke out in a cocky smile and proudly adjusted the ruffles on his collar. “But, I have no idea who Viago is.”

Cyrus’s jaw dropped. “Seriously? You’ve never seen What We Do in the Shadows?” TJ raised his eyebrows in amusement and shook his head no. “Oh my god, TJ, we have to rectify that. Like. ASAP. Buffy’s already claimed control of the movies for tonight” Cyrus grimaced and shuddered as he said that and TJ bit his lip to stifle his laugh at the sight. “but seriously. I have it on DVD. You HAVE to see it. It’s the best vampire movie in existence.”

“That’s a pretty high bar you’ve set for it, but I’m down, Underdog. It’s a date.”

They both froze for a minute and TJ saw a blush spread over Cyrus’s face. Neither of them were completely sure what TJ meant by that last sentence. They just stood on the porch staring at each other.

TJ was trying to work up the courage to reach forward and grab Cyrus’s hands and tell him that yes, he did mean a date-date and do you want to go on a date with me, Underdog? But before he got there, they were broken from their trance by Buffy’s booming voice.

“Hey everyone, get in the living room! I have a game I want us to play.”

Cyrus blinked and shook his head, unsure of what had just happened between them. If he didn’t know any better, he would have said TJ was checking him out? But that’s crazy.

“Um. After you?” Cyrus said, gesturing through the doorway with his arm.

TJ chuckled. “What a gentleman.” He ruffled Cyrus’s hair as he passed.

“Hey! That style took hours to perfect!”

TJ turned around with a smirk. “Still looks awesome to me.” and then he winked before facing forward again and plopping down on the floor around a board game with the others.

Cyrus forced himself to focus on the task at hand and not on over-analyzing TJ, who was just being his normal friendly self, after all. TJ looked back at Cyrus and patted the spot on the floor next to him.

Once everyone was sitting in a circle, Buffy looked around at them with a sinister and serious face. “This” she said, “is called a ouija board. It’s used to communicate with spirits.”

Marty gasped and went, “oooOOOOOoooOOOOooo, spoooooky…” Buffy elbowed him. “What? I was being serious!”

Buffy rolled her eyes and continued. “We all put one finger on the planchette, that’s this little triangle shaped thing here.” Buffy pointed at it. “Then, we ask if any spirits are present.”

TJ and Marty both seemed excited to start. Andi and Cyrus shared anxious looks. Jonah had his brows furrowed and looked around with a small frown.

“…and then what?” he asked.

“And then if there is a spirit present, it will use our fingers to move the planchette to answer our questions.”

Jonah still seemed confused. “So is it like. A ghost or a demon?”

Buffy gave Jonah a creepy smile, “Guess you’ll just have to ask them yourself.”

Jonah seemed pleased with that answer. “Oh, dosh. That makes sense.”

Buffy gave Jonah a confused look and seemed like she was about to respond but instead just shook her head and said, “Okay everybody. Put a finger on the planchette.” The all did as Buffy instructed with varying levels of amusement and anxiety on everyone’s faces.

Buffy took a deep breath and put on a serious face. “Are there any spirits present with us tonight?”

They all sat in silence for a minute, silently looking around at each other. And then they all felt the planchette move.

Andi let out a small shriek. “I’m not moving that. Is someone moving that? Who’s moving it?”

“I’m not!” Cyrus was just as nervous. “Guys seriously, are you moving it?”

Buffy, TJ, Marty, and Jonah all shook their heads no and looked back down to the board. It had settled over the word, “yes.”

Buffy looked back up at the group. “So. It appears we aren’t alone.”

Jonah cleared his throat. “Hey man, welcome! My name’s Jonah. Are you a demon?”

Everybody stared slack jawed at Jonah as he focused on the board. TJ leaned over to Cyrus and whispered, “Is he being serious?”

TJ’s breath against his skin made Cyrus shiver. “That’s Jonah for you.” Cyrus whispered back, shaking his head.

The group once again felt the planchette move. It moved away from “yes” for a second before settling back over “yes.”

“Okay guys, seriously who is moving it?” Andi asked again. When no one answered she looks back to Buffy. “Are we for real talking to a demon? Are we in danger?” Andi looked genuinely scared.

“Let’s ask him!” Jonah chimed in. “Hey demon, it’s Jonah again. Are you going to hurt us?”

Quicker than the last couple times, the planchette moved over the word “no”.

Jonah looked up with a sincere smile. “See Andiman, we’re totally safe.”

It was silent for a couple seconds and then Marty burst out laughing. “Leave it to Jonah Beck to put his trust in a literal demon.”

Everyone else soon joined Marty in laughing, including Jonah, who took a second to defend himself, “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with believing the best in everyone.”

Their laughter eventually died down and the mood was considerably lighter. They continued to take turns asking the demon questions. Jonah asked what the demon’s name was and discovered it was Carl.

“Carl the demon? Seriously? Oh I’m soooo scared of  _Carl_.” TJ said sarcastically.

Cyrus laughed and turned to TJ to say “You’re gonna get possessed if you keep disrespecting Carl like this.”

Eventually the game turned into the group treating Carl like a fortune teller. Marty asked if Buffy would ever beat his track record and when Carl said no, Buffy lightly punched Marty in the arm and said “You totally made it say that!”

“Hey, Carl’s word is law, Buffy. Just accept defeat. Second best is still admirable.”

Buffy scoffed and Marty mimicked her scoff right back. They both burst out laughing.

“You guys are so cute!” Andi cooed, “You have like, the perfect relationship. I wish I had a boyfriend like that.” She chuckled and then said, “Hey Carl, when will I have a boyfriend again?”

Cyrus chuckled, “At least you’ve had a boyfriend before! I should be the one asking Carl that. Only without the ‘again’.” He shared a smile with Andi, meanwhile Buffy looked over at TJ with a look in her eyes that told him she was up to something.

“Okay then.” Buffy said, “Carl. When will Cyrus get a boyfriend?”

“Oh, come on Buffy. He’s a demon, not a miracle worker.” Cyrus retorted, unaware of the anxiety radiating off TJ’s body.

The planchette slowly moved and landed on the letter “T”. They all watched in silence as it slowly moved it’s way from T towards the letter “J”.

 _Oh no_. Cyrus thought. He looked up at Buffy giving her a pleading look.  _Please don’t do this Buffy, please_. But Buffy didn’t see his face. She was focused on TJ who was intently staring at the board. The planchette landed on “J” and then stopped moving.

It was only then that Cyrus noticed TJ’s nervous body language and he assumed TJ must feel uncomfortable at best (and disgusted at worst) at the thought of dating Cyrus. The tension in the air was thick. Everyone was silent. Neither TJ nor Cyrus dared look at each other.

“TJ? That’s not an answer to when will Cyrus get a boyfriend.” Jonah stated. “I wonder if Carl’s getting worn out or confused-”

“I’m gonna get some air.” Cyrus abruptly interrupted Jonah and pushed himself up and out the front door.

Bex and Bowie were already occupying the front porch, passing out candy to trick or treaters, although there didn’t appear to be very many out anymore. It was getting late.

“Cyrus? You okay man?” Bowie asked when he heard Cyrus close the door and take large gulping breaths. “You look like you just saw a ghost.” He clapped his hand over Cyrus’s shoulder. “Breathe, man. You’re going to be okay.”

Cyrus shook his head, “Yeah, I’m- I’m fine. Just needed to get some fresh air.” He gave the couple an unconvincing smile.

Bex got up and stood next to Bowie, looking over Cyrus as well. “Did something happen? You can talk to us if you want, you know.”

Cyrus hesitated. Maybe talking this through with an adult would be helpful. “Um. There’s this… person that I like. And Buffy and Andi are the only ones who know about it. And they know I don’t want anyone else to know. Anyway, we were goofing around, asking dumb questions to a ouija board. And Buffy asked the board if I would ever get a bo- um. She asked it about my dating life. And then she made the board spell out that person’s name.”

Bex and Bowie gave each other a concerned look. “That doesn’t sound like Buffy.” Bex said.

“Are you sure it was her?” Asked Bowie.

“She had this look in her eyes like she was up to something. And I really don’t think it was Andi. And no one else knows.”

Bex nodded thoughtfully. “It sounds like you need to talk to her about it.”

Cyrus sighed. “I can’t go back in there right now. He’s in there.” Cyrus froze when he realized what he said, but he looked at the two adults standing with him and their faces were full of kindness and understanding. Well, he thought, may as well. “Um. It’s TJ. That’s who I like. And he’s in there and he saw all that happen.” Cyrus bit his lip as he felt it quiver. He did not want to cry right now.

Bex and Bowie both pulled him into a group hug. “He must be a pretty great guy if he’s worthy of your affection.” Bowie said.

Cyrus chuckled dryly. “He is great.” He pulled away with a deep frown on his face. “Too bad our friendship is ruined now.”

Just then the front door opened again and TJ walked out. “Hey Underdog, and um, Mr and Mrs Mack?”

Bowie and Bex looked at each other and just shrugged, “yeah that’ll do.” Bex said.

TJ turned all his attention to Cyrus. “Um, Cyrus, I need to talk to you.” He looked back at the adults. “Can you give us the porch? We can keep up with candy passing duties if any kids come by.”

“Sure, man. We’ll be in the kitchen if you need us.” Bowie said as they went back inside and then immediately ran to peek out the window. They may be adults but no one said they were mature.

“Cyrus. About what happened in there-”

“Ha, yeah. It was just Buffy playing some dumb prank.” Cyrus tried to laugh but it came out like a gurgle.

“Cyrus-”

“She’s got a weird sense of humor. Don’t take it too seriously.”

“Cyrus-”

“I mean, who knows what she was thinking, or where she got the idea that you and I-”

“Underdog!” TJ grabbed Cyrus’s shoulders and stared directly in his eyes. Cyrus gulped. “Buffy didn’t move it.”

Cyrus did not expect to hear that. “You think Carl did it?”

TJ couldn’t help but laugh despite the discomfort he knew Cyrus was feeling. “No of course not. I know Carl didn’t do it. And I know Buffy didn’t do it. Because… I did it.”

Cyrus just stared at him. “You… why?” Was TJ making fun of him? No, it couldn’t be. Cyrus knew TJ would never do something that cruel to him. But the only other explanation was… impossible.

“Because. I like you. And I wanted to let you know. But I guess I chose a pretty unclear way of doing it.” He lowered his head and scratched the back of his neck, looking up at Cyrus from beneath his eyelashes.

Cyrus was still frozen, just staring at TJ. He was trying to wrap his head around it all. The impossible explanation was… possible? What?

“It was dumb.” TJ continued when Cyrus didn’t respond. “I mean, I know it should have been this grand romantic gesture, some passionate and loving confession or something. That’s what you deserve. I should have planned something like that and rehearsed it.” TJ let out a breathy laugh. “But I decided to just wing it instead. Sorry.”

Finally Cyrus’s brain caught up with what was happening and he realized he hadn’t said anything yet. TJ was just staring at him expectantly. “TJ, I- I like you too.” He reached out and grabbed TJ’s hands to emphasize the point.

TJ broke out in a massive smile and pulled Cyrus into a hug. He rested his chin on Cyrus’s head. TJ couldn’t help but nuzzle his face in Cyrus’s hair. “I know.” he murmured into the hair.

Cyrus pulled back. “Wait. You knew I liked you? Was I that obvious?”

“No, actually. I think we were both pretty oblivious.” He chuckled. “I um, I actually overheard you, Andi, and Buffy at The Spoon a couple days ago. I was sitting in the booth behind you and I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard my name when you asked them if you could invite me tonight and then I heard, well…”

Cyrus went beat red. “Oh my god. I can’t believe you heard that.” He was racking his brain, trying to remember everything he said, everything TJ apparently heard.

“Yeah, I didn’t mean to overhear but, I’m glad I did.”

They smiled at each other for what seemed like forever, staring into each other’s eyes. TJ’s eyes found themselves wandering down to Cyrus’s lips, something Cyrus did not fail to notice.

Cyrus stepped a little closer to TJ, craning his neck up just slightly, just testing the waters.

TJ felt like his heart was going to explode. Was he reading the signals right? He tilted his head down a little, just an inch closer to Cyrus’s, to see how Cyrus would respond.

That gesture from TJ was all Cyrus needed. He reached up to wrap his arms around TJ’s neck and pulled him into a soft but quick kiss.

“Mmfph!” They both pulled away, frowning. “Teeth.” They said in unison, both pulling out their fake vampire fangs and laughing.

“Sorry I ruined our first kiss.” Cyrus said.

“Don’t sweat it, Underdog. First kisses are always awkward. Everyone knows the second kiss is where it’s at.” TJ wiggled his eyebrows. It was a dorky move but Cyrus internally swooned anyway, getting up on his tiptoes and TJ pulled him in for another kiss which was much less toothy than the first one. TJ smiled into the kiss when he felt Cyrus lightly cup the side of his face. They pulled away after a minute, just silently staring at each other for what seemed like a millionth time tonight, both their hearts hammering.

TJ slowly began to smirk, lightly touching his lips. Then he laughed almost to himself and said, “Yep. I’m gay.”

Cyrus looked at him, confused but completely enamored. “Okay? I mean, me too.”

TJ laughed, pulling Cyrus into another hug. “I just like you a lot. But. I gotta be honest, this is all kind of new to me.”

Cyrus looked up at TJ’s face and nodded, understanding. “That’s okay. We have time to figure things out.” TJ hugged tighter. “So, where do you wanna go from here?”

TJ smiled. “How about inside? Buffy was just about to start The Exorcist before I went out here.”

“Ugh, I swear she’s trying to kill me.” Cyrus shook his head, but then looked up at TJ, smiling, “but, if you don’t mind sitting next to me, I think I can manage getting through the movie.”

TJ smirked and grabbed Cyrus’s hand, pulling him towards the door. “Well then, what are we waiting for? I’ve got a movie to protect you from.”

 


End file.
